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A review by derangedxdivine
This Is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith
3.0
This is not what Maine looks like.
I wanted to like this book. I saw it on the shelf at a bookstore and was instantly attracted to the super cute cover. Before I decide to purchase a book, I usually read the first couple paragraphs to see if it grabs me. This book did! I'm a sucker for fluffy romance books. So, of course, I bought it. I whipped through the first fifty or so pages but then it started lagging.
One of the biggest reasons I wanted to love this book is because it's about small town Maine - which is where I LIVE. Let it be known, this is not what Maine looks like. At least, not what coastal small town Maine looks like. I tried hard to try to figure out where Henley was supposed to be in Maine, finally assuming it was a fictionalized Rockland. But no, apparently there's a sleepy fishing village an hour south of Kennebunkport? Who knew. I don't mean to harp on the author's lack of research, but I should probably make it be known that southern coastal Maine tends to be more...affluent than what this author suggests.
Anyway, as for the plot, I think other reviewers tackled the cliches (but cuteness!) better. Maybe this is why I don't read as much as I used to when I was younger - the flaws of books are so much easier to see.
I'd recommend this to younger teen readers (12-16ish) maybe.
I wanted to like this book. I saw it on the shelf at a bookstore and was instantly attracted to the super cute cover. Before I decide to purchase a book, I usually read the first couple paragraphs to see if it grabs me. This book did! I'm a sucker for fluffy romance books. So, of course, I bought it. I whipped through the first fifty or so pages but then it started lagging.
One of the biggest reasons I wanted to love this book is because it's about small town Maine - which is where I LIVE. Let it be known, this is not what Maine looks like. At least, not what coastal small town Maine looks like. I tried hard to try to figure out where Henley was supposed to be in Maine, finally assuming it was a fictionalized Rockland. But no, apparently there's a sleepy fishing village an hour south of Kennebunkport? Who knew. I don't mean to harp on the author's lack of research, but I should probably make it be known that southern coastal Maine tends to be more...affluent than what this author suggests.
Spoiler
Also I'm just gonna throw it out there that there's no way you can grow up in Maine, even if you're from away, and not have a whoopie pie. ESPECIALLY if you live in a touristy town...whoopie pies are literally everywhere in the summertime. I know this seems pedantic but a lack of research makes an already middling book hard to really like. :PAnyway, as for the plot, I think other reviewers tackled the cliches (but cuteness!) better. Maybe this is why I don't read as much as I used to when I was younger - the flaws of books are so much easier to see.
I'd recommend this to younger teen readers (12-16ish) maybe.